“It was a crazy par save, wasn’t it?” said Mickelson. “Penalty, smoked my second shot and made it for eagle ... made it for par.”

It just felt like an eagle. Much like his 2-under-par card felt like a victory in much more difficult conditions, and thanks to a birdie at the last Mickelson also managed to accomplish his ultimate goal.

“I played really well today, but there were a couple of loose shots,” the defending champion said. “I ended up giving four or five shots away, but I played really well. There was like a mental barrier to get it back to even par, so that putt on 18 was big.”